With 93 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, the Death with Dignity Act Campaign released a statement saying they "fell short."

"Even in defeat, the voters of Massachusetts have delivered a call to action that will continue and grow until the terminally-ill have the right to end their suffering, because today dying people needlessly endure in our commonwealth and do not have the right to control their most personal medical decision," the statement said, in part.

If the suicide ballot question had passed, Massachusetts would have become the third state to allow terminally ill patients to get help from their doctors to end their lives with lethal doses of medication. Oregon and Washington already have legalized it.

Thirty-four states prohibit assisted suicide outright. Massachusetts and six other states banned it through legal precedent.

Religious, medical and disability rights groups fought the measure, saying it's open to manipulation and relies on diagnoses that could be wrong.

Patients' rights groups and other supporters said it had effective safeguards, including prohibiting doctors from prescribing to depressed patients.